Earth Bending
Earthbending, one of the four elemental bending arts, is the geokinetic ability to manipulate earth and rock, in all their various forms. It is utilized by people of the Earth Kingdom Earth is the element of substance, making Earthbenders and their people diverse, strong, persistent, and enduring. The first Earthbenders, Oma and Shu learned the art from Badgermoles The key to Earthbending is neutral jing, which involves waiting and listening for the right moment to strike and, when that moment comes, acting decisively. In other words, Earthbenders generally endure their enemies' attacks until the right opportunity to counterattack reveals itself, then strike with unyielding force. Origin Humans first learned Earthbending by observing and imitating the geokinetic powers of Badgermoles that naturally inhabit the mountains in what is now Earth Kingdom territory. According to a legend, known widely as "The Legend of the Two Lovers", two star-crossed lovers named Oma and Shu, who hailed from separate villages that were at war with each another, learned the art from these creatures so that they could meet within the mountain that divided them. To make sure no one could ever find them, they used their new abilities to create a labyrinth of tunnels inside the mountain which only they could navigate. One day, after many meetings in the series of passageways, the man did not come to see his lover, as he had died, a casualty of the villages' quarrel. His lover showcased a devastating assault of her powers and ultimately proclaimed the feud over. Then, the villages collaborated to construct a city,Omashu, in their honor. The pathways they made by Earthbending became known as the Cave of Two Lovers. Fighting Style Earthbending is generally based on the Hung Gar style of Kung Fu, which features heavily rooted stances and strong kicks and punches that evoke the mass and power of earth. The martial art is based on the movements of animals, including the tiger, which is utilized when initiating hard blows, and the crane, which is used to land gently back on the Earth. There are exceptions to this rule - Toph, the blind Earthbender's style is based on Southern Praying Mantis, using its precise stepping to maintain contact with the ground for her to "see". Earthbenders, mostly Earthbending soldiers and generals, typically travel barefoot to increase their connection with the earth and their power. Earthbending is also one of the most diverse of the bending arts fighting styles, ranging from the most commonly used Earthbending, the rigid and collectively learned Earthbending of the Dai Li and the individually taught styles such as Toph's unique Earthbending technique. Earthbenders are generally muscular, toug h and direct and like all benders, their technique reflects on their individualized personalities. Earthbending differs from the other bending arts in that it maintains a distinct balance between offensive and defensive capabilities (though Waterbending involves a more refined version by channeling defense into offense). Earthbending uses a balance of strength and defense to overwhelm opponents. The principle of jing is the essence of battle strategy of all bending arts, with a total of eighty-five possible actions. Positive jing occurs when one chooses to fight, while negative jing is when one chooses to evade. The Earthbending discipline stresses neutral jing, which involves listening, waiting and attacking at the right moment. King Bumi stresses this in his tactics against the Fire Nation; he allowed himself to be imprisoned in New Ozai for many months before liberating the city on the Day Of the Black Sun simply waiting for the right moment to fight and liberate the city. The concept of neutral jing is also closely related to the philosophy of "sticky hands", a practice common to some southern Chinese martial arts such as Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu and Wing Chun. The purpose of sticky hands is to enable the practitioner to predict their opponent's next move. Similar to Toph detecting the movements of others through her connection with earth, a practitioner learns to detect their opponent's upcoming move by maintaining constant contact between their own arm and their foe's arm (may also be between their hands or wrists). By practicing with a partner in this manner, a practitioner will learn to "read" the slight movements of their opponent's arms to detect their next attack and then move accordingly to either strike before the attack is made or move in the same direction with the attack and effectively neutralize it. Concepts such as listening, reacting, balancing attacks and defense and drawing power from a stable lower body are often referred to in the practice of sticky hands, again, closely relating to many primary concepts in Earthbending. According to Iroh, earth is the element of substance. Sand Bending ''' Sand Bending is a form of Earthbending where the particles of sand are manipulated. The Sandbenders adapted the technique to survive within the Si Wong Desert. Most Earthbenders would have an ability to bend sand, but because of the loose nature of sand and the similarity of the art to Water and Airbending, most Earthbenders show an inability to adjust. Toph mastered Sandbending, creating a detailed model sand-sculpture of Ba Sing Se. '''Metal Bending Metalbending is a special subset of techniques within Earthbending that allows an Earthbender to ferrokinetically bend processed metals much as they would bend regular earth. It was developed by Toph Bei Fong while she was confined in a metal box. As of the end of the War, Toph remains the only known individual capable of Metalbending, but she will pass on this skill to her daughter Bei Fong. During a lecture on Chakras Guru Pathik explained to Aang that metal is merely earth that has been purified and refined. Using her ability to "see" through Earthbending, Toph was able to perceive the trace amount of earth still present in the metal, target it, and utilize it to "bend" the metal itself.